If you have ever been to an Emergency Department, you know it can be busy, chaotic and highly emotional. As the most common entry point to the hospital, this is where patients and families come sick, scared, overwhelmed, frustrated and easily dissatisfied if things...
Nursing Wit & Wisdom
Inspire and Be Inspired, Nightingales!
Are You Ready to Celebrate You? Happy Nurses Week 2017!!
Dear Nightingales and Friends, TODAY IS THE DAY. THIS WEEK IS THE WEEK. THE WORLD TAKES NOTICE. EVERY YEAR, IN VARYING WAYS AND VARYING DATES BETWEEN MAY 6TH AND MAY 12TH, NIGHTINGALES ARE CELEBRATED! AND WE SHOULD BE! WE ARE FABULOUS! I know it is hard to see it...
I Organized The Medical File A Different Way. It Made All The Difference!
Dear Nightingales and Friends, I was talking with an attorney client and paralegal about the various ways to organize medical records. He had mentioned, “Last time you organized records, it was by medical category. Why did you do it differently?”. Some clients prefer...
Funny Story… A Nurse And A Doctor Walk Into A Room
Dear Nightingales and Friends, So, funny story…A doctor and a nurse walk into a patient’s room. The doctor says to the patient, “Can you tell me who the president is?” The patient does. The doctor then says to the patient, “Can you tell me today’s date?” The patient...
Ventilators Can Save Lives And, Cause Complications
It is true… That what can save a life …… can also cause side effects and complications. Ventilators have become a common way to give emergency respiratory assistance to a variety of diagnoses including: 1. COPD/Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations 2....
8 Minutes Can Be Terrifying… Forever
It’s the Intensive Care Unit. Things can happen fast and furiously. To a patient, it can be a blur. Time… that is the critical key. Time can mean lost brain in a stroke. Time can mean lost heart muscle in a heart attack. Time can mean lost kidneys, liver, intestines,...
How Many Rights Does It Take To Administer Medications?
Every nurse in every nursing program in every state in every country has been taught and drilled “The 5 Rights of Medication Administration”. It is a standardized protocol to teach nurses to VERIFY WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN AND HOW they are giving medications: 1. Right...
No Chest Compressions Recommended
It is reported that 1750-7250 of approximately 250,000 patients that undergo major heart surgeries every year will have a post-operative cardiac arrest. There is new evidence that chest compressions are not the best answer. The current ACLS Standards for resuscitation...
Please Protect Me
I want someone who will protect me when I am sick and vulnerable. I know I am at your mercy. When I am so sick, I cannot tell or remember how many people are in the room, or protect myself … … against hands in private places, watching me for breathing, heart rate,...
Yes… 1 + 1 + 1 = 10
Did you know that 1 + 1 + 1 can equal 10? In mathematical sciences, it wouldn’t seem possible that this equation would possibly work. If I put that on the board in a math class, I would certainly be laughed at! In medicine and healthcare, however, this equation is...